1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates distribution of telecommunications and data transmission signals. More particularly, it relates to apparatus for the incorporation of signal distribution systems in modular office furnishings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is common in many offices, research facilities, light manufacturing plants and similar work places to have a number of people all working in the same room. Each employee's work space is defined by work area furnishings, which are commonly modular structures. Typically the work areas are formed by the interconnection of modular panels to form clusters of work areas. These panels are normally combined with counters, desk tops, bookshelves, storage cabinets and the like, so that each employee's work space can be configured to the optimum arrangement for the employee's particular work task. Because these various panels are modular, the various work areas can be disassembled and reassembled in numerous configurations as needed to ensure that working areas remain efficient as the company's work needs change.
In most, if not all, of these modular work areas, there will be a variety of types of office equipment including computers and communication equipment such as telephones and facsimile machines. Since most of the work areas are clustered into groups (typically two to twelve work spaces) it is most efficient if the electronic signal cables serving the various work stations are led in centrally through the work station panels for connection to the various pieces of equipment.
In the past, there have been numerous designs of modular panels which have included paths or raceways for power and communication cables. These, however, have been of two types: a) simple conduits through which individual cables are led without organized provision for distribution to the particular pieces of equipment; or b) integrated panels in which conduits and connectors have been part of unique structural aspects of the panels themselves. Typical examples of the latter are those panels which include unique mechanical linkage members to couple two adjacent panels in locked configuration, and in which the electrical connections are routed through the mechanical linkage structure so that locking the two adjacent panels together also simultaneously forms an electrical connection between the panels. Typical examples are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,367,370 and 4,377,724.
A typically configured prior art remote distribution system reduces the overall efficiency of space planning for the work areas and the manager's ability to organize the work for the most efficient work flow. Because of the significant distance between the conventional distribution room and any individual work station, any change in work task assigned to that station or in the equipment used at that station requires that entirely new wire pairs be run from the remote distribution room to the work station, clearly a time-consuming and expensive project. Also, since the wire pairs have to be run for some distance, including through the ceiling or floor of the work room, it is not uncommon for such changeovers to seriously disrupt the other employees whose workspaces are located near the workspace being converted, at least during the changeover.
It has been known that cables are more efficiently used for communications if the distribution point of a signal to a single target piece of equipment, such as a telephone or computer, is placed as close to that piece of equipment as is physically reasonable. It is much more technically effective and economical to run a multi-conductor trunk cable from a remote location to the modular work area and then run individual wire pairs for the shortest practical distance possible.
Some prior art designers have attempted to utilize this knowledge by providing wire distribution systems within modular panels. These, however, have typically been cumbersome, since a significant portion of the panel must be devoted solely to the distribution system. A typical example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,410, where essentially the entire bottom half of a typical modular panel is occupied by a massive distribution structure, including numerous junction boxes and configurations of various devices mounted on several different types of panels. Such systems have been less than successful, since the large size of the units significantly detracts from the efficiency of the modular workplace. Further, such systems effectively prevent the designer from optimizing or changing workspace configurations readily since panels having large scale distribution system within cannot be interchanged with other panels in the modular cluster to allow the designer free rein in designing the work areas.
It would therefore be advantageous to have communication apparatus which provides for distribution of wire pairs from a trunk inlet and which permits rapid and interchangeable communication links and electronic links with individual pieces of equipment, all of which advantageously fits entirely and completely within the size of a typical raceway within or adjacent to a modular panel, such that the raceway's position can be readily varied to permit maximum flexibility in the design of modular clusters. Further, it would be advantageous for the distribution system to be mounted within the raceway in a manner which would permit easy and rapid removal of the system, either for replacement, relocation or repair.